


The Not Christmas Gift

by Thunder_Fox



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin
Genre: Canon verse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-18 01:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13089240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunder_Fox/pseuds/Thunder_Fox
Summary: Levi was always like that this time of year. Erwin didn't understand why, but he had chalked it up as his aversion to the cold weather. Snow was his nemesis, and  nipping breezes would turn his nose and cheeks red and leave him looking sour. It was cute, but it was a mistake to point it out.





	The Not Christmas Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Filling a prompt over on tumblr. Sometimes I like to write sickeningly sweet things. Sometimes I don't like thinking of titles, so I just don't. Enjoy~

"Hanji is bugging about her test subjects again. It freaks me out, the way she treats them like her children or something." This wasn't a new topic of discussion for them. Erwin heard about it daily, either from a ranting Levi, or an excitable Hanji, though they had yet to report any significant discoveries in terms of their foe.

Erwin hummed as he leafed through the extensive financial reports for the end of the year. Money wasted here. Money wasted there. Next year they would do better. They would have to, considering the upper class were hoarding their pennies in their high dollar homes, spending so much on food in a week that they could feed the underground for years. He understood why Levi hated them-

Levi!

From the corner of his eye, Erwin caught sight of humanity's strongest storming across the office to wrench the door open before slamming it shut just as the words, "doesn't ever fucking listen", drifted in through the crack. Then he was gone, taking the negative energy that had been stuffing the room for an hour now with him.

Levi was always like that this time of year. Erwin didn't understand why, but he had chalked it up as his aversion to the cold weather. Snow was his nemesis, and nipping breezes would turn his nose and cheeks red and leave him looking sour. It was cute, but it was a mistake to point it out.

Still, the thought alone brought a smile to his face and made the long night pass more quickly. He should do something for Levi. He wondered if giving a gift for the holiday would be too much. They had promised not to exchange that year. It was a waste of funds, and he knew Levi hoarded his hard earned money all year to pay for the birthday present he had been given. It wasn't fair that Levi refused to share his, then shoot down his only other opportunity to give gifts.

And that bothered him for the rest of the night. In the morning, he was going into town. Even the simple gift of tea would please his partner, and that wouldn't look too out of the ordinary. It was decided then and there that he would take a peek at Levi's private collection that night. Hanji would still have him out celebrating, his handsome face pinched and cast down in a frown. 

Yes, he would search tonight and make his purchase tomorrow. Then it was simply hiding it until Christmas rolled around. The corridors were empty. Everyone had gone into town, or was already in bed while Erwin dug his way through the small boxes of belongings that held Levi's entire life. It didn't seem like enough. Small mementos from his life in the underground: a couple of crude knives, a delicate tea pot and a single cup, various varieties of teas. It was hard to believe that a man who meant so much to humanity had barely collected enough in his lifetime to fill a couple of small shelves in a tiny closet.

"And what's this?" He whispered to himself, curiosity winning over his caution when it came to digging too deeply into Levi's personal life. It was a box he had never noticed before. It made a soft, clinking sound as he lifted it to study it's contents. On top, written in the unsteady hand of a dying woman read:

_My dearest Levi_

_This is all I have to give you. I am sorry I can't be there for your birthday, but I hope you will remember me whenever you use this. I love you._

Scribbled below was a note- Do not open until December 25

Erwin was in shock. He almost dropped the box, but his eyes drifted back down to he contents. 

Oh- Oh! That could work.

_____

Something was wrong. It had taken a full week for him to figure it out. The culprit had been precise, meticulous in the way they repacked his things, but Levi had figured it out. And now he just had to discover who the thief was. Who would dare take a box of useless junk that had nothing but sentimental value.

Knowing that it was missing made his heart ache, but why did it have to be just hours before the clock hit midnight and welcomed him to another year he had to try to survive on this planet. He wore a scowl so deep that his fellow soldiers scrambled from his path as he marched through the corridors, a bundle of bitterness and rage.

"Where the hell is Erwin?" He snapped at the recruit that had failed not to cross his path. "That dumbass better not still be in his office, I swear-"

He didn't even wait for a reply, not even tossing the trembling boy another look as he returned to his stalking. It brought him around to the office in question, and he was actually shocked to see that it was vacant. There was a note on the desk though.

_Levi, please join me in my room at midnight so that we may properly celebrate the festivities._

That was just like Erwin, so formal when they both knew he meant for them to fuck. It almost pulled the corner of his lips up into a smile. He was hunting down a relic of his past, but he couldn't forget the amazing things he had managed to claim, and miraculously hold onto, in the present.

Two hours- He had two hours to clean up and make himself presentable. Which meant he had time to soak in a hot bath, forget his troubles before stealing away to the Commander's quarters. The door was unlocked, so he let himself in.

And he saw it.

The box. Sitting there. Like he was meant to find it. But wait... that meant Erwin read the note. That meant Erwin knew what day it was as the clock struck midnight of Christmas morning.

A tic started in his jaw, raw fury burning in his chest as he stormed into the room and was blocked by a mountain of muscle before he could reach. 

"Oof-" He stepped back, rubbing his nose to glare up at his partner. "What the actual fuck, Erwin? You're the one that went through my shit? Why? I can't believe-"

Erwin bent at the waist, stole Levi's breath away with a lingering kiss that promised explanations, as well as a good night. "Happy birthday, Levi." And before Levi could get mouthy and spout more accusations, Erwin held a finger to his lips until they thinned again. "Why didn't you tell me that teacup was so special to you when I dropped it?"

Now his eyes went wide, then ducked with guilt as Erwin's hand fell to cup his jaw in a familiar grip. "It wasn't." But that was lie. Erwin had found the evidence in the box, along with the broken pieces he still held onto. "I mean, it was, but it wasn't." It wasn't because Erwin had long ago surpassed it in terms of importance. Making a teacup an issue, when he still had another and the pot, could have cost him something much rarer and irreplaceable. He couldn't lose Erwin.

Thankfully, Erwin seemed to understand. He always understood, and that meant the world to someone who struggled stringing together words that were meaningful and sincere.

"You wouldn't let me get you anything for Christmas, but you said nothing about your birthday." Erwin's smile was so genuinely soft, Levi couldn't stay angry. Even if he was supposed to be cursing him for finding a loophole yet again. 

Erwin grabbed the box. It had a little red ribbon tied around it, but he recognized the old wood. The ribbon unraveled under hasty fingers, and now Erwin looked nervous, like maybe he had second thoughts. "Calm down, Blondie. I'm going to kick your ass for this either way." He only half teased as the ribbon fell to the floor. The box didn't crunch anymore. He had to know what Erwin did with pieces. Surely he hadn't thrown them away when he replaced them.

The lid creaked open on old hinges, and for a second he held his breath, eyes shut as if he were afraid. Instead, his jaw dropped. In the box sat the broken teacup, pieced together and sealed with gold. He had never seen anything like it in his life. His heart pounded against his chest as he lifted the delicate cup from the box. Every piece was there. He had memorized them all, knew exactly how they would fit back together, if only that were possible.

And of course, face Erwin with an impossible task, and he would find a way. "How?" He asked, mesmerized and turning it over between his fingers. It was broken yes, would never be the same, but now a piece of Erwin lived eternal through his tea set as well.

"It's an old technique, rarely used." Erwin explained, and Levi could only imagine the cost when their resources were so scarce within the walls. "It's called kintsugi-"

"I don't give a fuck what it's called." Levi cut him off. Carefully, he set the cup back in the box and set it aside. "You're an idiot... But you're my idiot."

Levi fell into the embrace like a drowning man searching for air, and Erwin was ready to breathe it back into his lungs. They kissed, slow and steady, touching and appreciating one another and the bond that stood as strong as the streaks of gold in his teacup.

"At least it was only you going through my shit. I know I can kick your ass."

Erwin smiled against his lips, lifted him to carry him to the bed they would share that night. "I love you, too, Levi."

And it was the first time Erwin had seen Levi smile on his birthday. He promised that night to see them every year he had left in this life.


End file.
